Guptill eyes up 2023 World Cup

He might be starved of one-day international cricket this summer, but Martin Guptill wants to be around for the next World Cup in 2023.

The Black Caps opener will be back on his home turf at Eden Park in Auckland today for the second ODI against India when a win will send the series his side’s way.

Guptill made 32 in an opening partnership of 85 with Henry Nicholls on Wednesday at Seddon Park in Hamilton, as the Black Caps chased down 348 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

He hasn’t passed 50 since he made 73 in the team’s first match at least year’s World Cup in England – a 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka – and has now gone 10 innings without a hundred.

If he doesn’t get one today, at a ground where he’s scored two, he will have equalled his longest run of matches without a three-figure score since early 2015, when he broke a 21-game streak and proceeded to find the best form of his career.

Guptill will be 36 come the 2023 World Cup, which is set to be held in India, a country where he hasn’t found a great deal of success (averaging 29.43 compared to his career mark of 42.13).

But as he got ready to prepare for the second of three ODIs on home soil this summer he made it clear he wants to be there.

‘‘Absolutely,’’ he said when asked.

‘‘Pending body issues and form and things like that, hopefully I can stick around and put enough numbers on the board to be in that squad.’’

The Black Caps have three more ODIs in Australia in March this summer, making for just six in total, but Guptill was happy to make do.

‘‘The focus [last year] was because of the World Cup and there’s a lot of T20 cricket leading into the T20 World Cup this year,’’ he said.

‘‘I don’t think one-day cricket is going anywhere, there’s still a World Cup to play for in three years’ time, and leading up to that there’s going to be a lot of ODI cricket.

‘‘I enjoy the ODI format, so hopefully there’s plenty more to come.’’

Scott Kuggeleijn has been ruled out of today’s match after coming down with flu-like symptoms, which means that, with leg-spinner Ish Sodhi also leaving the squad, tall seamer Kyle Jamieson is set to make his debut.

Guptill made his debut at Eden Park way back in 2009, marking the occasion with the first of his 16 ODI hundreds.

‘‘Man, that was a long time ago, eh,’’ he said yesterday, with a laugh.

‘‘There are certain parts of it that I remember.

‘‘What was it, 11 years ago? There’s been a lot of cricket played since then but I’ll always hold that one close to the heart.’’

Guptill has been involved in the last three World Cups, where the Black Caps have made it to the semifinals, losing there in 2011, then in the final in 2015 and 2019.

‘‘Hopefully I can stick around and put enough numbers on the board to be in that squad.’’

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